obvert
Posts: 14050
Joined: 1/17/2011 From: PDX (and now) London, UK Status: offline
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Oct 25-26, 1944 Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Not only is it the end of the school year, with associated extra business to have grades in, clean up and make final arrangements for the year, but it's a bit of party time too! In addition, my daughter has developed a case of chicken pox. She's being a trooper so far, so fingers crossed. Got away for a bit of dad time on father's day here, and in addition to turns want to do some quick updates. Ketoi is getting pounded from all directions right now. It also looks like the Allies have installed a new division, the USA 6th division. One of the Aussie IDs was removed. So the CD guns are having minimal effect by now, the mines are being swept, the midgets have accomplished nothing, and today a LR CAP over the island was crushed. Not by the sweeps, but by the escorts of the bombers. Damn. That's late war Japan for ya. Even decent moves can turn out badly. In the South the Japanese air forces make up for it though, and jump the constant daily milk run of 300+ bombers near Toungoo. Maybe 40 2E and a good number of 4E and fighters lost. So on the day the Japanese come out slightly ahead, and luckily, with battle over our troops, not many pilots lost anywhere. On the 26th the CAP in Burma suffers but gets a few more bombers, and the Allies launch a new amphibious assault; at Port Blair!! This is a signal, one of the red flags for me that indicate a moment to move back from central Burma. The large attacks on the Toungoo side are wearing the defenders down but it looks like they can't break through, which is good. Reinforcements will make it and all will then turn and race to Pegu. All traps in the big stacks on the Prome side will also run to Rangoon. Once there, the freshest troops will aim to hold as the tired and disabled move back to Moulmein. Then all will shift back and force the Allies to decide on whether they want to do a large stack river crossing. I'll probably cede Rangoon without a fights, which I hate to do, but it makes sense in the larger scheme of things. It's now about delay and getting troops out without being either pushed back or encircled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Oct 25, 1944 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TF 220 encounters mine field at Ketoi-jima (134,50) Allied Ships AM Adroit PC Travis 29 mines cleared -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Ketoi-jima (134,50) Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 447 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships LCI-65, Shell hits 3, heavy fires, heavy damage PC Travis LCI(G)-405 LCI(G)-406 LCI(G)-404 LCI(G)-403 LCI(G)-401 LCI(G)-366 LCI(G)-365 LCI(G)-78 LCI(G)-77 LCI(G)-76 LCI-70 LCI-69 LCI-68 LCI-66 LCI-83 AM Adroit LCI-219 LCI-216 LCI-85 LCI-221 Japanese ground losses: 470 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 15 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 41 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Guns lost 8 (1 destroyed, 7 disabled) Allied ground losses: 291 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 10 destroyed, 27 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled 12cm 10YT DP Gun Battery engaging LCI-65 at 7,000 yards Massive explosion on LCI-65 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TF 455 encounters mine field at Ketoi-jima (134,50) Allied Ships AM Zeal AM Herald AM Revenge PF Bisbee, Mine hits 1, heavy damage 38 mines cleared -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Ketoi-jima (134,50) Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 71 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships LCI-61, Shell hits 2, heavy fires, heavy damage PF Bisbee, heavy damage PC Kimball LCI(G)-466 LCI(G)-465 LCI(G)-464 LCI(G)-463 LCI(G)-462 LCI(G)-408 LCI(G)-407 LCI-64 LST-27 LST-25, Shell hits 4, on fire LST-23, Shell hits 2 LST-26 LST-28 Japanese ground losses: 380 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 21 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 12 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 4 disabled 12cm 10YT DP Gun Battery engaging LCI-61 at 5,000 yards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pre-Invasion action off Ketoi-jima (134,50) Defensive Guns engage approaching landing force 385 Coastal gun shots fired in defense. Allied Ships BB Idaho APA Monrovia DD Blue II Japanese ground losses: 117 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 232 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 10 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 21 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled BB Idaho firing at 71st Division -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amphibious Assault at Ketoi-jima (134,50) TF 447 troops unloading over beach at Ketoi-jima, 134,50 Allied ground losses: 207 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 36 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 26 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Guns lost 21 (0 destroyed, 21 disabled) Vehicles lost 14 (0 destroyed, 14 disabled) 15 Support troops lost from landing craft during unload of 6th Infantry Div /14 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 21st Division, at 56,51 , near Toungoo Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 80 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 27 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 11 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 12 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 12 Ki-84a Frank x 16 Ki-84b Frank x 7 Ki-100-I Tony x 16 Allied aircraft Corsair II x 6 Liberator B.VI x 4 B-24J Liberator x 6 B-25D1 Mitchell x 9 B-25H Mitchell x 4 B-25J11 Mitchell x 10 P-40N5 Warhawk x 12 Japanese aircraft losses N1K5-J George: 1 destroyed Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed Ki-84b Frank: 1 destroyed Ki-100-I Tony: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Corsair II: 1 destroyed Liberator B.VI: 2 damaged Liberator B.VI: 1 destroyed by flak B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged B-25D1 Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 5 damaged B-25H Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 2 damaged B-25J11 Mitchell: 3 destroyed, 3 damaged P-40N5 Warhawk: 4 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 2 x Liberator B.VI bombing from 13000 feet Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Burma Area Army, at 56,51 , near Toungoo Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 59 NM, estimated altitude 17,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 16 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 4 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 6 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 3 Ki-84a Frank x 3 Ki-84b Frank x 3 Ki-100-I Tony x 4 Allied aircraft B-25D1 Mitchell x 10 B-25H Mitchell x 9 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses B-25D1 Mitchell: 4 destroyed, 2 damaged B-25H Mitchell: 6 destroyed, 1 damaged Aircraft Attacking: 9 x B-25D1 Mitchell bombing from 13000 feet Ground Attack: 6 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 16th Division, at 56,51 , near Toungoo Weather in hex: Heavy cloud Raid detected at 79 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 27 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 2 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 1 Ki-84a Frank x 1 Ki-84b Frank x 2 Ki-100-I Tony x 1 Allied aircraft B-24J Liberator x 20 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-84b Frank: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses B-24J Liberator: 10 damaged B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese ground losses: 11 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 6 x B-24J Liberator bombing from 13000 feet Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Ketoi-jima , at 134,50 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 16 NM, estimated altitude 38,900 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 20 N1K2-J George x 27 N1K5-J George x 16 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 19 Ki-84a Frank x 23 Allied aircraft Corsair II x 4 F4U-1A Corsair x 32 Japanese aircraft losses N1K2-J George: 6 destroyed N1K5-J George: 1 destroyed Ki-43-IV Oscar: 4 destroyed Ki-84a Frank: 3 destroyed Allied aircraft losses F4U-1A Corsair: 3 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on Ketoi-jima , at 134,50 Weather in hex: Light cloud Raid detected at 72 NM, estimated altitude 18,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 24 minutes Japanese aircraft A6M8 Zero x 20 N1K2-J George x 9 N1K5-J George x 13 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 6 Ki-84a Frank x 19 Allied aircraft Corsair II x 8 Liberator B.VI x 19 Liberator GR.VI x 7 B-24D1 Liberator x 6 B-24J Liberator x 45 P-38L Lightning x 27 P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 32 P-51B Mustang x 3 F6F-5 Hellcat x 18 PB4Y-1 Liberator x 22 Japanese aircraft losses A6M8 Zero: 8 destroyed N1K2-J George: 3 destroyed N1K5-J George: 2 destroyed Ki-43-IV Oscar: 3 destroyed Ki-84a Frank: 2 destroyed Allied aircraft losses Corsair II: 1 destroyed Liberator B.VI: 2 damaged Liberator GR.VI: 4 damaged B-24D1 Liberator: 2 damaged B-24J Liberator: 21 damaged P-38L Lightning: 3 destroyed F6F-5 Hellcat: 1 destroyed PB4Y-1 Liberator: 18 damaged Japanese ground losses: 83 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 8 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Airbase supply hits 1 Runway hits 9 Aircraft Attacking: 10 x PB4Y-1 Liberator bombing from 12000 feet Ground Attack: 10 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Afternoon Air attack on 16th Division, at 56,51 , near Toungoo Weather in hex: Heavy rain Raid detected at 58 NM, estimated altitude 13,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 17 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 7 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 8 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 7 Ki-84a Frank x 8 Ki-84b Frank x 6 Ki-100-I Tony x 10 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIc Trop x 6 B-25J1 Mitchell x 6 Japanese aircraft losses Ki-100-I Tony: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses B-25J1 Mitchell: 3 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Ketoi-jima (134,50) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 14285 troops, 235 guns, 15 vehicles, Assault Value = 899 Defending force 72798 troops, 913 guns, 1493 vehicles, Assault Value = 1697 Japanese ground losses: 80 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 7 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Allied ground losses: 37 casualties reported Squads: 1 destroyed, 4 disabled Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 0 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Vehicles lost 3 (2 destroyed, 1 disabled) Assaulting units: 11th Ind.Mixed Regiment 85th Naval Guard Unit 36th Ind.Mixed Brigade 71st Division 45th Ind.Mixed Brigade 109th Div /1 49th Mountain Gun Regiment 1st Base Force 3rd FF Const Unit 25th Special Base Force 34th Const Co 5th RF Gun Battalion 11th RF Gun Bn /1 Defending units: 706th Tank Battalion XI Corps Combat Engineer Regiment 112th Cavalry Regiment 4th Marine Division 8th Australian Division 3rd Marine Division 1st Army Tank Regiment 6th Infantry Division 5th USMC Tank Battalion 1st Regiment 2nd Medium Regiment 148th Field Artillery Battalion 237th USN Base Force 4th Field Artillery Battalion Provisional GMC Grp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ACTION REPORTS FOR Oct 26, 1944 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Submarine attack near Ketoi-jima at 134,50 Japanese Ships SSX Ha-25 Allied Ships LCI(G)-407, Torpedo hits 1, heavy damage SSX Ha-25 is sighted by LCI(G)-407 SSX Ha-25 launches 2 torpedoes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Burma Area Army, at 56,51 , near Toungoo Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 13 NM, estimated altitude 46,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 3 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 13 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 9 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 9 Ki-84a Frank x 13 Ki-84b Frank x 7 Ki-100-I Tony x 11 Allied aircraft P-47D25 Thunderbolt x 22 Japanese aircraft losses N1K5-J George: 1 destroyed Ki-43-IV Oscar: 3 destroyed Ki-44-IIc Tojo: 1 destroyed Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed Ki-84b Frank: 3 destroyed Ki-100-I Tony: 4 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-47D25 Thunderbolt: 2 destroyed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on Burma Area Army, at 56,51 , near Toungoo Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 22 NM, estimated altitude 41,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 5 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 7 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 3 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 5 Ki-84a Frank x 7 Ki-84b Frank x 1 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIc Trop x 1 P-38L Lightning x 18 Japanese aircraft losses N1K5-J George: 1 destroyed Ki-43-IV Oscar: 1 destroyed Ki-84a Frank: 1 destroyed Ki-84b Frank: 1 destroyed Allied aircraft losses P-38L Lightning: 1 destroyed Aircraft Attacking: 1 x P-38L Lightning sweeping at 40000 feet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Air attack on 16th Division, at 56,51 , near Toungoo Weather in hex: Moderate rain Raid detected at 76 NM, estimated altitude 15,000 feet. Estimated time to target is 22 minutes Japanese aircraft N1K5-J George x 2 Ki-43-IV Oscar x 1 Ki-44-IIc Tojo x 3 Ki-84a Frank x 1 Allied aircraft Hurricane IIc Trop x 1 Liberator B.VI x 2 B-24J Liberator x 16 B-25D1 Mitchell x 9 B-25H Mitchell x 3 B-25J11 Mitchell x 4 No Japanese losses Allied aircraft losses Liberator B.VI: 1 damaged B-24J Liberator: 12 damaged B-24J Liberator: 1 destroyed by flak B-25D1 Mitchell: 1 destroyed, 3 damaged B-25H Mitchell: 1 damaged B-25J11 Mitchell: 2 damaged B-25J11 Mitchell: 1 destroyed by flak Japanese ground losses: 11 casualties reported Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 1 disabled Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled Aircraft Attacking: 4 x B-25J11 Mitchell bombing from 13000 feet * Ground Attack: 3 x 500 lb GP Bomb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at Port Blair (46,58) Japanese Bombardment attack Attacking force 2993 troops, 12 guns, 9 vehicles, Assault Value = 104 Defending force 4478 troops, 90 guns, 68 vehicles, Assault Value = 259 Japanese ground losses: Vehicles lost 1 (1 destroyed, 0 disabled) Assaulting units: 2nd South Seas Det. 92nd JAAF AF Bn Defending units: 82nd (West African) Div /4 11th PAVO Rgt /5 475th USA Regiment Lushai Bde /2 1st Indian Medium Regiment 159th USA Base Force /2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ground combat at 56,51 (near Toungoo) Allied Deliberate attack Attacking force 117725 troops, 1569 guns, 1606 vehicles, Assault Value = 2981 Defending force 57230 troops, 552 guns, 397 vehicles, Assault Value = 1175 Allied adjusted assault: 882 Japanese adjusted defense: 1949 Allied assault odds: 1 to 2 Combat modifiers Defender: terrain(+) Attacker: Japanese ground losses: 1456 casualties reported Squads: 11 destroyed, 233 disabled Non Combat: 5 destroyed, 34 disabled Engineers: 9 destroyed, 28 disabled Guns lost 84 (42 destroyed, 42 disabled) Vehicles lost 34 (1 destroyed, 33 disabled) Allied ground losses: 2813 casualties reported Squads: 44 destroyed, 213 disabled Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 69 disabled Engineers: 5 destroyed, 47 disabled Guns lost 44 (2 destroyed, 42 disabled) Vehicles lost 44 (1 destroyed, 43 disabled) Assaulting units: 9th Indian Division 268th Motorised Brigade 627th Tank Destroyer Battalion 150th RAC Regiment 14th Indian Division 2nd British Division 6th Australian Division 11th Indian Division 72nd British Brigade 22nd (East African) Brigade 50th Tank Brigade 6th Chinese Corps 86th Coast AA Regiment 18th SP Field Artillery Regiment 249th Field Artillery Battalion 87th Medium Regiment XV Indian Corps 85th Medium Regiment 101st Heavy AA Regiment 181st Field Artillery Regiment 168th Field Artillery Regiment 2nd Indian Heavy AA Regiment 97th Field Artillery Battalion 32nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 1st USMC Field Artillery Battalion 6th Medium Regiment 24th Indian Mountain Gun Regiment 134th Field Artillery Battalion 2/9th Field Regiment 22nd Indian Mountain Gun Regiment Defending units: 21st Division 2nd Guards Division 16th Division Yokosuka 2nd SNLF Burma Area Army 2nd Ind.Art.Mortar Battalion 56th Field AA Battalion 8th RF Gun Battalion 18th Medium Field Artillery Regiment 125th AA Regiment 53rd Const Co 6th Ind.Hvy.Art. Battalion 115th AA Regiment 20th Ind. Mtn Gun Battalion 12th Air Defense AA Battalion 16th Army 3rd RF Gun Battalion 62nd JAAF AF Bn --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
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